Paul N. Luvera Sr. (March 25, 1898 – November 4, 1990) was an Italian immigrant to the United States with a sixth grade education who was a
Washington State Senator from 1953 to 1957 and renowned
totem pole
Totem poles () are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large t ...
carver whose work is displayed around the world.
Early life
Luvera was born in 1898 in
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...
, Italy, the son of Niccola and Fillippa Luvera. In 1910, his family moved to
Coleman, Alberta
Coleman is a community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a town prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pas ...
where Niccola worked in coal mines. In Coleman, Luvera spent one year in school to complete the sixth grade, before, at the age of 13, he started working in the mines and continued there for nine years.
Career
Luvera's Fruit Store
Niccola eventually developed lung problems from working in the mines, and in 1918, the Luvera family moved to
Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.[Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass. The island is named afte ...]
. After working in mills and delivering groceries, Luvera, with his father, opened Luvera's Fruit Store, which catered to local residents as well as fisherman who needed supplies.
State senator
Luvera ran for the Washington State senate on a promise to fix the main road into the city of Anacortes. The road was near the ocean and prone to flooding. Luvera won a senate seat and served one term from 1953 to 1957. During his term, Luvera secured funding for a new segment of highway built on a hillside safely above floodways. In 2000, in honor of Luvera's efforts to create the roadway, the Washington Senate voted to name it the Paul N. Luvera, Sr. Memorial Highway.
Totem pole carver
After his retirement from both the senate and his grocery store, Luvera devoted his time to his hobby carving totem poles, an art form based on the Native American tradition. In 1977, he wrote a book entitled "How to Carve and Paint Totem Poles", which he self-published and eventually went into seven printings. It was purported to have sold 30,000 copies.
Though Luvera was criticized for borrowing the Native American craft of totem pole carving, he declared a respect for Native American art and asserted the craft had been nearly lost and needed to be preserved.
Luvera's carvings became well known and can be found in such places as Tacaoma Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Yokohama, Japan; and Stockholm, Sweden.
Death
Luvera died in his Anacortes home on Sunday, November 4, 1990 at the age of 92. He was survived by his wife of 64 years, his two daughters Phyllis Luvera Ennes and Anita Luvera Mayer and son
Paul N. Luvera Jr.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luvera, Paul N., Sr
1898 births
1990 deaths
Washington (state) state senators
Totem pole carvers
20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature